“Be kind to all creatures; this is the true religion.”
(Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Buddha – c. 563 BCE/480 BCE – c. 483 BCE/400 BCE)
This is a close-up of one of the statues of the Buddha inside the Tibetan temple in Sarnath which is located at 13 km away from Varanasi (Benaras).

Divali, or Deepavali (in Hindi – दिवाली or दीपावली), is a major Indian festival, significant in Hinduism , Jainism and Sikhism.
Celebrated by Hindus,Jains and Sikhs across the globe, as the “Festival of Light,” where the lights or lamps signify the uplighting of darkness and victory of good over the evil within.

The celebrations focus on lights and lamps, particularly traditional dīpa or deeya (earthen lamp), and fireworks. Though colloquially called Divali in North India, in South India it is called Deepavali.
Divali is celebrated for five consecutive days at the end of Hindu month of Ashwayuja (amanta).
It usually occurs in October/November, and is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited festivals in India.
Hindus, Jains and Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships.
For Hindus it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the year in some Hindu calendars, especially in North India.

This image was shot in Sarnath in front of Lord Buddha’s tree (which was grown from a cutting of the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya) where he met his first five disciples.

On this auspicious day of Diwali and in the coming New year may you all be blessed with success, prosperity and happiness…

“ Abraham said:
“I will go to my Lord! He will surely guide me “O my Lord! Grant me a righteous son!” So We gave him the good news of a forbearing son. Then, when the son reached the age of serious work with him, Abraham said: “O my son! I have seen in a vision that I offer you in sacrifice: now see what your view is?” The son said: “O my father! Do as you are commanded: you will find me, if Allah so wills, one of the steadfast!”
So when they had both submitted Allah and Abraham had laid his son prostrate on his forehead for sacrifice, We called out to him “O Abraham! You have already fulfilled the dream!” – you are indeed Do We reward those who do right.”
(Qur’ân – verse 37:99 to verse 37:109)

Islam focuses on Abraham more than either Judaism or Christianity, but with an important difference: where Judaism holds that one becomes a descendant of Abraham through birth, and Christianity that one becomes a descendant through faith, Islam holds that descent is unimportant – Abraham, in other words, is not the father of the believing community, but a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Mohammad.
Islamic traditions consider Abraham the first Pioneer of Islam (which is also called millat Ibrahim, the “religion of Abraham”), and that his purpose and mission throughout his life was to proclaim the Oneness of God.
When Abraham was asked for sacrifice, he took Ishmael to sacrifice. When he was about to use the knife, God placed a sheep under his hand.
Abraham had shown that his love for Allah superseded all others: that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dearest to him in submission to Allah’s command.
As a reward for this sacrifice, God then granted Abraham the good news of the birth of his second son, Is-haaq (Isaac).
Muslims around the world commemorate this ultimate act of sacrifice every year during Eid al-Adha, to follow the path of Abraham that is called Qurbani (sacrifice).

During this festival in Varanasi (Benaras), it is common for Muslims and non-Muslims to visit their Muslim friends and neighbours on Eid to convey their good wishes and share a meal or sweets.
This is a view shot from the upper terrace of the Bara Imambara in Lucknow built by Asaf-ud-Daula, the Nawab of the city, in 1784.
The two minars on the left belong to the Asfi Mosque and on the right stands the Rumi Darwaza known as the Turkish Gate.
This picture of the City of Nawabs, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, allows me to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Eid Mubarak.
“May Allah ease the suffering of all people around the world…”

“I’ve learned much from the land of many gods and many ways to worship. From Buddhism the power to begin to manage my mind, from Jainism the desire to make peace in all aspects of life, while Islam has taught me to desire goodness and to let go of that which cannot be controlled. I thank Judaism for teaching me the power of transcendence in rituals and the Sufis for affirming my ability to find answers within and reconnecting me with the power of music. Here’s to the Parsis for teaching me that nature must be touched lightly, and the Sikhs for the importance of spiritual strength….And most of all, I thank Hinduism for showing me that there are millions of paths to the divine.” (From “Holy Cow” by Sarah Macdonald)

This is a close-up of a part of the Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath located at 13 km away from Varanasi (Benaras).The Dhamek Stupa is said to mark the spot of a deer park (Rishipattana) where the Buddha gave the first sermon to his five disciples after attaining enlightenment, “revealing his Eightfold Path leading to nirvana”.In its current shape, the stupa is an impressive cylinder of bricks and stone reaching a height of 43.6 meters and having a diameter of 28 meters (128 feet high and 93 feet in diameter).The basement seems to have survived from Ashoka’s structure: the stone facing is chiseled and displays delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. The wall is covered with exquisitely carved figures of humans and birds, as well as inscriptions in the Brāhmī script.This picture was shot at the time of a visit of his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
(From “A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches” by Martin Luther King Jr.)

Amazing symbols gathered all together on a huge bowl in the gardens of the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum in New Delhi.
With “Om” everything begins, it is a mantra and mystical Sanskrit sound of Hindu origin sacred and important in various Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Like Ganesha who is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, he is the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom, the god of beginnings and therefore he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies.
Then the hexagram which has deep significance in most of the Dharmic and Abrahamic religions.
In Christianity it is often called the star of creation, while it is known as Najmat Dāwūd (Star of David) or Khātem Sulaymān (Seal of Solomon) in Islam and becomes the Magen David when it is recognized as the symbol of Judaism.

In many ways this picture unites us all and allows me to wish everyone, whatever your faith is, “A Guit Your”, “Shana Tova” or, in other words, a Happy New Year.
It is easier to love than to hate, and as we are at the edge of a new conflict I truly want peace to prevail.
May this year be peaceful for all of us…

There was a game of lights and shadows on a spectrum of spiritual orange vibrations at the small Hanuman temple standing at the edge of Manikarnika Ghat in front of the Ganges in Varnasi (Benaras).
In Hinduism orange or saffron is the most sacred color representing the fire that burns all kind of impurities, this is the reason why this color symbolizes purity.
It also represents religious abstinence and it is the color of holy men and ascetics who have renounced the world.
Wearing orange symbolizes the quest for light.
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The etymology of Orange is interesting, the word comes from the Old French “orenge” (c.1300), the old term for the fruit “pomme d’orenge” coming from Medieval Latin “pomum de orenge”.
It also comes from the Sanskrit word “naranga-s” which means “orange tree” as the tree was probably coming from northern India.
Later it gave «naarangi» in Hindi, “narang” in Persian, “naranj” in Arabic and “naranja” in Spanish.
The name is also related to the places where the orange tree was exported.
The bitter Persian orange, grown widely in southern Europe after its introduction in Italy during the XI° but it was replaced by sweet oranges brought to the rest of Europe in the XV° from India by some Portuguese traders.
Portuguese, Spanish, Arab, and Dutch sailors planted citrus trees along trade routes to prevent scurvy.
On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus brought the seeds of oranges, lemons and citrons to Haiti and the Caribbean.
I twas Introduced in Florida (along with lemons) in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon and much later to Hawaii in 1792.
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With this picture of a gate leading to the Masjid-i Jahān-Numā, commonly known as the Jama Masjid, in Old Delhi I would like to wish “Ramzan Mubarak” to all my Muslim friends, colleagues and members of my team.
And of course to all of you, Muslims and non-Muslims, who are following my work on internet.

“May this Ramzan bring you the utmost in peace & prosperity.
May lights triumph over darkness.
May peace transcend the earth.
May the spirit of light illuminate the world…”

“Be kind to all creatures; this is the true religion.” (Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Buddha – c. 563 BCE/480 BCE – c. 483 BCE/400 BCE) This is a close-up of one of the statues of the Buddha inside the Tibetan temple in Sarnath which is located at 13 km away from Varanasi (Benaras). More […]

Originally posted on Red Halo: Since the first collection, Red Halo introduced a specific design reminding the Mughal’s royal court magnificence. It was designed by Manish Gupta and inspired by a Persian carpet style, in a way it was making a bridge between the carpet industry that he knew so well and this interior company…

Originally posted on Red Halo: Our show-room in Benares was thought with neutral colours and simple contemporary elements which allow to emphasize our products. We keep this concept for the booths we settle all over the world when we show our collections during exhibitions and fairs or for the Red Halo shops and corners in…

“The longing for Paradise is man’s longing not to be man.” (From “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera) This picture was shot at Manikarnika Ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) where Hindus are cremated hoping to receive moksha, freedom from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth. Moksha allows one to […]

“I tell you once and for all— in front of the angel pictures on the wall, that I am not a host to load-bearing ghosts or headyentities, and if I was ever holy, I have fallen far into the dense atmosphere of the living.” (From ” Drum Machine” by Kristen Henderson) This is a street […]

“It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary.” (David Bailey – English fashion and portrait photographer, b.1938) This picture […]

“To the Divine” is a picture shot during the Ganga Aarti celebrated for Dev Diwali at Prayag ghat along the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras). It was selected for the image cover of the October 2014 issue of “SHUBH YATRA”, the inflight magazine of Air India. Join the photographer at LAURENT […]

“Monsoon’s showers” is a picture shot in New Delhi during the first day of monsoon. Some devotee were waiting in line in the street in order to worship in a temple, they were enjoying the rain after the heat of summer. It was selected for “De l’eau et des hommes” a book by Jean-Claude Lefeuvre […]

“Out of Sundays Dancing” is a picture with four parrots dancing in the air at Munshi ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras). It was selected to make the cover of “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth which is released for the 20Th Anniversary Edition. _______________________ “A Suitable Boy”: 20Th Anniversary Edition by Vikram Seth […]